|
Compete Smart Conference
Oct. 2& 3
At every Compete Smart conference,
you want to hear more
from Montana companies. What are their roots, where are their challenges?
What's helped to launch or grow more success? Get top flight tips
that can electrify your business when you
Hear 3 Montana Company Leaders
"Lines on Success"
feature sponsor
First Interstate Bank
(Friday, Oct. 3, 8:00 AM, following
breakfast)
Peter Stark, Founding Partner
North Slope Sustainable Wood LLC
Listen to a compelling story about how the
business community and environmental community can work hand in
hand to the
mutual benefit of both from writer, forest landowner and founding
partner of North Slope Sustainable Wood. The company was founded
in 2004 and uses small-diameter larch trees from forest restoration
sites in the Northern Rockies to manufacture high-quality tongue
and groove flooring and trim under the "Treadlight" brand.
The company is deeply involved in the "green building"
movement across the country and also manufactures energy-efficient
larch windows in conjunction with Clawson Windows.
 Laura
M. Fleming, President
SRS Crisafulli, Inc.
Hear how SRS Crisafulli rises to the challenge
of reinvigorating rural Montana manufacturing by developing regional
talent and recruiting non-locals in a way that will integrate them
into the eastern Montana landscape. Laura's story will resonate
for companies struggling with limited workforce and skills shortages
as she shares innovative models to anchor recruits to the community
and strengthen ties. Learn about what's working and where the challenges
are for a growing company in recruitment, changing attitudes, and
retention. SRS Crisafulli has earned a reputation over forty years
for building versatile, rugged, reliable, long lasting, high capacity
pumps, dredges and power units. The company was founded in 1966
by three brothers in Glendive, Montana, which is still its headquarters.
The original product was a patented double suction impeller used
in high capacity pumps to irrigate family farms along Montana's
Yellowstone River. Today the company's engineered products are sold
in six market segments across the U.S. and 50 other countries and
used in a wide variety of applications from large volume fluids
transfer to dredging of municipal, industrial, and natural waste
streams.
Bjorn Nabozney , Co-founder
Big Sky Brewing Company
Bjorn will share the hair-raising
story of starting a capital-intensive business with friends and
without cash and then growing the business into a fully functional
brewery in just six months
while keeping the best interests
of employees, customers, retailers, distributors, and investors
in mind. Tremble along with him as you hear about occasionally having
to wear a tie when soliciting funds. Hear about the continual growth
that led Big Sky Brewing Company to build a new 38,000 square foot
brewery after less than seven years of operation. Big Sky Brewing
Company has grown to be far and away the largest brewery in Montana
since its founding in 1995. The brewery's Moose Drool Brown Ale
was recently named as one the five most recognized images associated
with Montana. All of Big Sky Brewing's beers are brewed in Missoula
and are currently sold in 18 Western and Mid-Western states.
Back to top
Return to main conference
page
NOW MORE PLANT TOURS to choose from!
Thursday, Oct.2
Limited seating, so register early
for your favorite combo!).
Get a birds-eye view with Compete Smart multi-site,
plant tours FREE to registered participants thanks to support from
Montana Hydraulics of Helena and General Distributing of Great Falls.
Choose your favorite morning mix Oct. 2 from
options below:
Option A: Early
1-hour Walking Tour to Diversified Plastics & Felco Industries
near the Hilton (Great option with
Pre-sessions II or III, for Exhibitors, or for meetings with Doug
Hall)
Option B: Bus
to Spectrum Products, CM Manufacturing, & American Eagle Instruments
8:45-11:10 a.m. (some walking between sites on this tour)
Option C: Bus
to Roscoe Bridges, GTC Nutrition & (final stop) Diversified
Plastics 8:45-11:10 a.m.
feature sponsors: Montana Hydraulics
& General Distributing
Get
Up to Speed with these BONUS Pre-Sessions |
Morning sessions Oct. 2
I: LEAN Manufacturing with Lego
Presenter: Dale Detrick,
MMEC
Improve trajectory with Lean Manufacturing
techniques in this session using Lego® to introduce the concepts
and give you an opportunity to apply them in a simulated factory.
Learn how you can cut work in process, shorten lead times and gain
greater productivity.
II: LEAN Office: Another Step on the Lean Path
Presenter: Stacey Scott,
MMEC
Is your shop floor starting to outpace your
office? What happens in the front office can have significant impact
on customers AND the shop floor. This session will discuss proven
Lean techniques and includes a simulation to demonstrate the power
of applying them to an office setting. Participants will identify
the different types of waste that they see within their own work
environments and discuss methods to eliminate them.
III: Unlock the Door
to NEW MARKETS in Government Contracting
Presenter
Jason Porch or Doug Bolender, MTPTAC
Interested in government contracts to expand
your market? Avoid getting tripped up with guidance from an experienced
MT Procurement Technical Assistance Center counselor on the ins-and-outs
of government contracting. Learn how to find the right markets and
avoid the pitfalls that plague less informed government contract
holders. Learn more about PTAC services that put you on the right
footing for this profitable market.
Open Quickview
AGENDA for session times
For more about registering
CLICK HERE
Back to top
Compete Smart Breakout Sessions, Oct.
2 & 3
Find the Keys to Electrify Your Business in
sessions by MMEC staff, specialists and partners in six tracks: Choose
from one track or select a mix --careful that times don't overlap.
Better yet, bring your key people and share what you learn.
FOR YOUR OWN PERSONALIZED SCHEDULE
at the door
indicate on the registration form which sessions and meals will
be attended each day and who will be attending each.
|
TRACK A: Reel In Opportunities
with MARKETING
|
 A-1
The Business of Customer Service
Gary Bishop MSU-COB/State Farm Family Business
Program
Customer service directly impacts business
growth, sustainability and development. Recharge with this session
on delivering outstanding customer service and effectively responding
to customer demands. Get a customer service survival kit & understand
the paradigm shift that has taken place in business.
 A-2
Market Research Tools to Guide
Business Decisions
Jakki Mohr, PhD., Award-winning
professor of
Marketing at UM
Link your business decisions to crucial
market-based information covered in this session. Discover valuable
resources, decision tools to help organize and use the information,
and what barriers to overcome for leveraging it. Leave key questions
you need to answer to move your business forward.
 A-3
Currents of Market Research in Technology Development & Commercialization
John Balsam Associates, LLC
Montana Technology Innovation Partnership
This session will help you see and
describe your innovations as product to be sold. Learn how and why
staged market research should be performed in parallel to development.
Get 3 keys that guide successful commercialization, valuable market-research
resources and specific market-research activities to pursue back
home.
 A-4
Catch the Trade Winds of Exporting: Step-by-Step Selling in Foreign
Markets
Carey Hester, Montana Export Assistance
Center, U.S. Commercial Service
This session will present instructions
for implementing a step-by-step program to start selling into foreign
markets. Beginning with sales issues, the course will also highlight
delivery tasks that must be addressed by exporters when shipping
product to foreign markets. Federal regulatory requirements specific
to exporters will also be covered.
Scroll over instructor photos to learn
more about each.
Open Quickview
AGENDA for session times
Back
to top
|
TRACK B: Connect the
Pull of LEAN Manufacturing
feature sponsor:
Sterling Savings Bank
|
 B-1
& 2 Avoid Supply-side Whipsaw with
"The Beer Game"
(2-part, limited seating)
Kreg Worrest, MMEC Field Engineer
Prove your management skill in The Beer Game.
It's winner take all in this team-based industrial production game.
You'll manage the supply and distribution within a beer production
supply chain with a goal of satisfying customer demand at the lowest
total cost. This simulation will demonstrate several surprising principles
tied to Lean Manufacturing, team-based problem solving and human behavior.
Cost to play $1.
 B-3
Soar with the Benefits of Cellular/Flow Manufacturing
Lloyd Taylor, Lean Expert, Sterling
Savings Bank
A Manufacturing Cell is the most efficient
combination of manpower and machinery possible in your Lean arsenal.
Come and learn how to incorporate manufacturing cells on your production
floor and in the office. See the positive impacts it can have on
your bottom-line profit, using case study examples. Process applies
to both assembly and fabrication applications.
 B-4
Mixed Model Production to Untangle Bottlenecked Resources
Bill Nicholson, MMEC Field Engineer
& fomer Honeywell Lean Expert
If you have multiple products competing
for the same resource, driving large batch sizes (and inventory
out the roof!) attend this session and learn how to untangle your
bottlenecked resources and optimize flexibility. Discover how and
when to use Mix Model scheduling and how Every Product Every Interval
(EPEI) is the solution you may have been looking for to improve
throughput and delivery time. Walk through real life examples and
learn how to calculate minimum batch size at a shared resource.
For more about registering
CLICK HERE
|
TRACK C: Tapping the
Currents in WORKFORCE
feature sponsor:
Montana State Fund
|
 C-1
The Key to Alternative Workforce
Panel facilitator Bob Hietala, Prospera
Business Network
When the workforce pool is limited,
a big contract strains your workforce or you are short on available
talented and technically skilled individuals, where do you turn?
Join us for a panel presentation by a selection of Montana resources
you can tap today and into the future to help with workforce shortages
and skills gaps. 
C-2 Soar with Job Matching for High
Performance
Steve and Vicki Wilson, Willow Creek
Consultants
Take the guesswork out of hiring, promoting
or transferring the right people to build a high performance
workforce. Learn about a 7-step hiring
process that increases the odds of hiring top
performers while reducing the time
it takes to hire
 a
new employee. Learn how to use "job
matching" to identify and apply the traits of known top performers.
Great tips and techniques to minimize your people problems. Get
several free assessment tools.
C-3 & 4 Training Within Industry
to Keep Your
Lean Initiatives
in the Air (2 part)
Terry Cox, North Dakota MEP
Training Within Industry gives muscle to
your Lean efforts with step-by-step training to managers and supervisors.
Terry's 3 hour TWI overview & working session on Job Instruction
Training will provide basic principles to create a job breakdown
(basis for standard work) and how to effectively train "a person
to do a job." Get an overview of the people side of Lean and
take-away for the 4-step method in Job Relations, Job Instruction
& Job Methods. TWI adaptors slash training time by 80% and reduce
quality issues by 95%.
Open Quickview
AGENDA for session times
|
TRACK D: Soar
with INFORMED DECISION-MAKING
feature sponsor:
Montana Community Finance Corp.
|
 D-1
Steer Your Intellectual Property Assets to Best Advantage
Marti Elder Inc., Montana Technology
Innovation Partnership
ALL companies have intellectual property
(IP) assets! Are you working yours to the best advantage? If you
don't fully understand your IP or how to leverage its competitive
value, this session is for you. Companies will be guided from a
business perspective to identify and protect IP inventory and to
integrate IP strategies into ongoing management and decision-making
processes.
 D-2
Costing Analysis for New Product Launch
Al Deibert, MilTech
Check the winds before your next product
launch by exploring simple financial "what if?" tools
that can help you with complex decisions before undertaking them.
Examine the financial impact of launch including the marketing,
staffing, equipment and inventory. The tools and real world examples
will provide needed content behind gut decisions made every day
and prioritizing projects. Gain an understanding of the Excel tools
used in a costing analysis.
 D-3
Pre-flight Check with Business Valuation
Paddy Fleming, MBA, MilTech
You need to KNOW how much your business
is worth. This class is a must if you are thinking about selling
or merging your business, acquiring one or gifting to children.
Participants will go through how to calculate business worth using
their financial data and pertinent industry data. Participants will
also be provided with a list of Montana resources that provide certified
analysis should one be required.
 D-4
On Solid Ground with Process Modeling
Todd Daniels, MMEC Field Engineer
Planning to grow or expand and don't know
which resources to invest in? Wish you could understand how changes
in your operations impact your business BEFORE they happen? Watch
as Todd demonstrates the easy-to-use computer simulation tool that
closely mimics determined details of existing or proposed process(es)
to reveal hidden relationships, identify trouble spots, and communicate
more clearly with animation and data. Learn more about this powerful
tool to enhance decision making.
Back
to top
For more about registering
CLICK HERE
|
TRACK E: Get Lift with
GROWTH TOOLS
feature sponsor:
Montana Community Finance Corp.
|
E-1: Investor Strategies to Help Set
Wind Speed & Direction
Curtis Burgess, Mendota Group, and Bob Comey,
Invest America
Aligning capital needs with growth plans is
a challenge. Learn how to attract private equity capital with this
look at what investors seek in a company that needs growth capital
from two experienced equity/venture fund managers. Hear how they assess
a company's ability to meet goals, what they expect from management,
and about different ownership models. Plent of Q&A as you explore
how these financing options are working for two area firms, Spectrum
Products, Missoula, and PolyWarehouse, Stevensville.
 E-2
How Established Manufacturers Leverage SBIR/STTR
Tab Wilkins, NIST MEP
Looking to grow, but concerned about internal
funding levels or historically low internal rate of return on R&D?
Hear how established manufacturers leverage federal SBIR/STTR funding
to support million-dollar R&D efforts. Learn strategies and
methods that can increase your proposal success rate. Take home
a business self-evaluation tool & tips to minimize government
paperwork and auditing requirements.
 E-3
Leveraging GREEN: Uplift for Today's Market
A Roundtable facilitated by Jim
Haider, MMEC
Learn more about how the green movement
offers new opportunities for dramatic difference. Join Montana company
owner John Porterfield
of Porter Block Construction, Whitefish, and Howard
Haines of Montana DEQ's Pollution
Prevention Program to explore how efficient use of resources and
sustainability in products and services can enhance marketability
AND reduce your costs. Learn the attributes of this rising customer
segment, how staying ahead of regulatory threats and reuse-recycle
can help gain market share.
 E-4
Set Sail with Optimal Distribution Channels & Pricing
Leesa Nopper, M2TAP
What is the best way to get your product
to end users? What is the most profitable pricing strategy for your
company? Identify the optimal distribution channel based on these
factors and expect to learn how to: 1) Define your product in terms
of value to middlemen and end users; 2) Determine what combination
of push and pull distribution strategies will best fit your product
and pricing; 3) Consider pricing strategies that meet market and
distribution channel demands and build company equity.
Back
to top
|
TRACK F: Power Glide
with TARGETED TOOLS
|
 F-1
Using Baldrige Criteria to Defy Gravitational Pull
Andy Roche, Nutritional Laboratories
International
Get lift with this session to understand
how the powerful management system behind the Baldrige National
Quality Program can free your business from the status quo. See
how Baldrige Criteria works in the areas of customer focus, strategic
planning, process improvement and workforce management. Learn how
to use the Baldrige self-assessment to generate an organizational
snapshot that focuses your key challenges AND advantages for growth.
Continue what you learn in the newly forming
Montana chapter.
 F-2
Technologies to Manage Customers & Growth
Doug Sire, InterDyn BMI, your local
Microsoft Gold Certified Partner
Explore the right technology to support
growth, securely handle financial information and leverage your
Lean goals in this session. Get tips on developing a plan to ensure
IT investments positively impact your bottom line. Explore systems
that integrate with familiar software like Microsoft Office Outlook,
Word, and Excel. Examples will be given using MicroSoft technologies
like Microsoft® Dynamics. Time for Q&A.
F-3 Communication Skills Matter
w/ Simulation
Bryan Peterson, Associated Employers of
MT  (AEM)
(instructor change from brochure listing)
Talking, but nobody's listening? Avoid stormy
weather by determining which "communication killers" are
dampening your projects/goals. Explore active listening in this
enjoyable simulation and practice techniques that will improve your
communications. Learn about five listening styles and appropriate
uses of each. Understand why nobody "heard" you and enhance
your team's output.
 F-4
Rapid Product Development: What's Up & Why Design Matters
Quest Integration & Rob Kinzle,
MilTech
Get a line on "fail fast, fail cheap"
rapid product development, reducing costs and getting more from
your design team in this session on what's mainstream today in virtual
prototyping tools. Learn from a technical and monetary investment
prospective how these tools can test new product form, fit and function,
about powerful analysis functions and why good design up front makes
a difference. Learn how every facet of business from sales &
marketing to vendors & suppliers gets into the cycle earlier
& more effectively.
Back to top
Open Quickview
AGENDA for session times
For more about
registering CLICK HERE
Your
chance to Win
Visit the exhibit booths and
talk more with vendors about products and services that can strengthen
your business. Door Prizes and exhibitor
booth drawings will be posted periodically
during the two-day event.
Enjoy theMontana Product Showcase featuring
the diverse products made by this important sector of Montana's
economy.
feature sponsor UPS
Electrify Your Taste Buds!
Hosted by NorthWestern
Energy & MMEC with feature sponsor Montana Department of Agriculture/Montana's
Agro-Energy Plan.
You are invited to a special evening of
delicious fare from
a "Montanaco's" special menu prepared in the Executive
Chef's Kitchen at the Hilton Garden Inn. Enjoy
everybody's favorite -- Montana wines & micro-brews
at a pre-dinner reception in the Conference Exhibitor Hall.
WHERE DO WE GO
FROM HERE?
Compete Smart Luncheon/Closing Address (1:30-2:45
pm)
Hear the electrifying results of several new growth initiatives launched
earlier this year by Ken Green, Timberline Tool, as he does the wrap-up
for Compete Smart 2008. Don't miss
the this!
|
PLEASE THANK OUR SPONSORS
|
The Compete Smart conference is brought to
you by the Montana Manufacturing
Center and
co-host NorthWestern Energy
and these generous business supporters
PLATINUM
Montana Department of Agriculture
Montana's Agro-Energy Plan
Montana Chamber of Commerce
GOLD
Montana Hydraulics LLC
First Interstate Bank
Montana Community Finance Corporation
Technical Systems Integrators
Sterling Savings Bank
Montana Department of Commerce
SILVER
General Distributing
Montana State Fund
Missoula Airport Board
UPS
MSU College of Engineering
Prospera Business Network
InterDyn Business Microvar
Montana Dakota Utilities
Montana Department of Environmental Quality
BRONZE
Montana Technology Innovation Partnership
MSU COB Family Business Program
Allied Waste Systems
Montana World Trade Center
ColorWorld Printers
Back to top
(Click
icon to register NOW!)
for Compete Smart
Manufacutirng Conference Oct. 2-3, 2008.
Conference Registration fee is $195.00. Register by September 12
and SAVE $20 per registration. SAVE
even MORE per registration with TEAM
DISCOUNT by registering three or more from your company. With both
discounts you save $45 per registraton!
Registration fee includes all general sessions, your choice of concurrent
breakout sessions, 2 lunches, "Montanaco's" special menu,
Sponsor-hosted breakfast, refreshments during breaks, conference
materials and BONUS Road Tours & Pre-sessions
Easy pre-registration online or
Specify "Compete Smart"
& send participant names, company name, mailing address, phone
number, fax number & email addresses
along with choices of Pre-session & breakout sessions
via
Email to mmec@coe.montana.edu
Call MMEC at 406-994-3812
Or request an electronic brochure to mmec@coe.montana.edu
and
Fax form back to 406-994-3391
Mail payment to MMEC, P.O. Box 174255, Montana
State University, Bozeman, MT 59717-4255
Back to top
|
